Barcelona’s next big signing of the summer?

Barcelona are reportedly preparing to launch a bid to bring Arsenal centre back Thomas Vermaelen to Spain.

Although the defender has attracted significant interest from Manchester United over the past few weeks, culminating in an apparent £11 million bid, The Metro is now reporting that Barcelona are ready to pounce with their own transfer offer.

Arsenal are prepared to allow the Belgian to leave this transfer window but are not prepared to sell him on the cheap. A bidding war between Manchester United and Barcelona would certainly help them to get the best possible price for the player.

The Metro alleges that the Catalan club are willing to spend up to £15 million to acquire his services.

Vermaelen has been heavily linked to Manchester United over the summer. His first team opportunities at Arsenal have been limited over the last season thanks to the solid defensive partnership of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker.

With the player determined to fight his way back into the Belgium squad, and play regular first team football, he is likely to move on from The Emirates. While Louis van Gaal is reportedly very interested in taking him to Old Trafford, a potential move to Barcelona may well tempt the defender to follow his old team mate Alex Song to Spain.

Barcelona are in need of a centre back. Club legend Carlos Puyol retired from football at the end of the last season, leaving the club with just Gerard Piqué as an established centre back. Throughout the previous season the Catalan side often relied on Javier Mascherano and Alex song to fill in at centre back.

The club have already brought in Valencia defender Jeremy Mathieu. The defender can play at both left back and centre half, though new manager Luis Enrique may want to bring in extra cover so that the squad will not have to rely on midfielders in case of injury or suspension.

Let’s see Vermaelen at his best. Barcelona fans: technically good enough for the club?